# joss

> English word · Noun · IPA /dʒɒs/ · frequency rank #25,813

## Definitions
1. A Chinese household divinity; a Chinese idol.
2. A heathen divinity.
3. Luck.

## Etymology
From Chinese Pidgin English joss, from Macau Pidgin Portuguese, from Portuguese deus (“god”), from Latin deus (“god”), from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god/that which belongs to heaven”).

## Easily confused with
- **joy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joss-vs-joy)
- **jus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joss-vs-jus)
- **jot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joss-vs-jot)
- **just** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joss-vs-just)
- **joys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joss-vs-joys)
- **jour** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joss-vs-jour)
- **jugs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joss-vs-jugs)
- **Jove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joss-vs-jove)
- **jo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/jo-vs-joss)
- **job** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/job-vs-joss)
- **Joe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joe-vs-joss)
- **Jon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/jon-vs-joss)
- **jog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/jog-vs-joss)
- **Joo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joo-vs-joss)
- **Jas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/jas-vs-joss)
- **Joh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joh-vs-joss)
- **jor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/jor-vs-joss)
- **john** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/john-vs-joss)
- **join** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/join-vs-joss)
- **jobs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/jobs-vs-joss)

## Common misspellings (4)
`jjoss`, `jos`, `jsos`, `ojss`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/joss